Crazy experiment yields acceptable results

I mentioned previously that I experimented a bit with my Union Jack foals this year.

In the past, I have tried to match him strength to strength, matching him with turf/distance mares such as Ace Of Grace, In Spirit, and Arctic Fox.  This year, willing to go against my conventional wisdom, I bred him just twice and both mares were dirt milers; Nova and Nova's daughter Nebula.

Nova had most of her success at 6F, but she had the chops for a couple more furlongs.  She just fell into that sprinter category and things were going pretty well so she stayed there.  She did crank off a few 100+ PSR's at the end of her career at distances of 8.5F and 9F.  And she was fast! 

Nebula, while not nearly as talented as her mother, was a consistent earner and also could handle 8F, even though she ran mostly in sprints.

Neither one of these mares ever ran on turf.  Why then would I even consider matching then with a distance horse who ran on dirt only once in 46 career starts?

Ummm.  I don't know.

In my defense, Union Jack was actually rated as Good, OK, Good on dirt surfaces.  So, I figured that even if the dirt gene did raise it's head, it shouldn't blow the foals out of the water.  And... if I got Union Jack's stamina or an average of sire and dam, I had at least a 54% chance of getting a Classic or longer foal.

Here's what I got:

Jackanova (2017), 15.3 hand dark brown filly

By Union Jack out of Nova by Housebuster

This horse will mature at the average rate (3-4).

This horse will have a very short peak time, perhaps only a single racing season.

This horse prefers hard dirt.

This horse is good on soft dirt.

This horse is good in mud.

This horse prefers hard turf.

This horse is ok on soft turf.

This horse is of average soundness.

This horse obeys its jockey and is flexible in its pacing.

This horse stalks the pace.

This horse accelerates like a bullet!

This horse has average speed out of the gate.

This horse has good speed. Could set records.

This horse likes a lot of distance.

Three Rings (2017), 17 hand dark brown filly

By Union Jack out of Nebula by Dubai Gold

This horse will mature quickly and be at peak performance early (2-3).

This horse will have an average performance peak, at least two racing seasons.

This horse dislikes hard dirt.

This horse is poor on soft dirt.

This horse is good in mud.

This horse prefers hard turf.

This horse is poor on soft turf.

This horse is very hardy and unlikely to fall victim to injuries.

This horse obeys its jockey and is flexible in its pacing.

This horse is a front runner.

This horse has good acceleration.

This horse is a slow starter out of the gate.

This horse has average speed.

This horse looks like it can run at classic distances.